machine info needed

today I bought a montgomery ward 2025A lathe and would like to know if anyone has information on this machine. after a few googles searches I havent really found ny info on this machine and owmm.com didnt have much either. i bought it because it has a variable speed which goes down to 800 rpms and figured it might work for turning bowls.

the head stock is threaded and i plan on taking one of the fittings off it so I can find one that work work with this lathe.

after playing with some scrap lumber it seems to be working ok but it is definitely wimpy I think I will use it for smaller decorative items until I can buy a better machine

one problem I ran into today was the switch was stuck in the off position so after opening the machine i realized the safety mechanism was being held open with a block of wood. I will probably just disable the safety mechanism altogether since i doubt i will find the key for it

If you’re lucky the threads will be 1”x8 (most common) or 3/4”x16 (2nd most common). 1/2HP is on the lean side but should be plenty for basic spindles. The lack of power could be a slipping belt or part of the variable speed system. Is the speed control a Reeves drive?

It has just a set of standard segmented drive pulleys on it and the belt does look a bit worn so i may do some digging into finding a new belt.

I have also decided that i will relegate this machine to small spindles as I have come into contact with someone that has an old rockwell machine which should probably work better since i could easy upgrade it if i want more power or change the pulleys if i want lower rpms and more torque

What information are you looking for? If you can find someone with a tachometer, you can check out the speed range and you can measure the spindle thread with a caliper. I have a Craftsman lathe and the dial goes from 500 to 2000 but the tach shows it goes from 307 to 1556.

You can turn start bowls at 800 if they are reasonably balanced in the rough. Band sawing the blank round helps.Stay close to the switch when you turn them on and have the tail stock cranked in real tight.

good luck!...............Jim

-- Jim Jakosh.....Practical Wood Products...........Learn something new every day!! Variety is the Spice of Life!!